AVPro Edge MXNet User guide

Brand: AVPro Edge

Model: MXNet

Category: Network switches

Type: User guide

AVPro Edge MXNet is a versatile AV-over-IP system designed for easy setup and management of audio and video distribution over a network. With its plug-and-play functionality, you can quickly connect encoders and decoders to create a customized AV system. The MXNet Control Box acts as the central hub, providing control and configuration options through the user-friendly MXNet MENTOR web app. You can assign custom names and descriptions to inputs and outputs for easy identification.

QUICK START GUIDE

The MXNet Ecosystem consists

of two major components:

1 - The MXNet hardware platform. 2 - The MXNet MENTOR setup,

testing, and diagnostics app

The MXNet hardware platform, and the MXNet MENTOR web app were designed with the goal of providing

an easy to setup “plug-n-play” AV-over-IP system. The MENTOR web app utilizes a feature rich collection of

useful tools for making MXNet easy to configure, test and manage.

This QUICK START GUIDE was written with the first time MXNet integrator in mind. It is a basic introduction

to the MXnet Ecosystem. The objective of this guide is to get you, and your MXNet system up and running

in a matter of minutes.

Control Box, Encoders,

Decoders, and Network Switch Construct, Configure, Control, Test

Next page - setting up the MXNet Hardware . . .

PAGE: 2

MXNET CONTROL BOX REV. 1

MXNET CONTROL BOX REV. 2

NEXT, YOU WILL

NEED A MIX OF THESE:

FINALLY, YOU WILL

NEED ONE OR

MORE OF THESE:*

( DEPENDING ON SYSTEM SIZE )

AC-MXNET-1G-T or AC-MXNET-1G-E AC-MXNET-1G-R or AC-MXNET-1G-D

( ENCODER/TRANSMITTER ) ( DECODER/RECEIVER )

FIRST, YOU WILL

NEED ONE OF THESE:

THE MXNET HARDWARE PLATFORM

AC-MXNET-SW24

AC-MXNET-SW48

PAGE: 3

AC-MXNET-SW10

*ALL MXNET SWITCHES

ARE PRECONFIGURED

OUT-OF-THE-BOX

FOR AV over IP APPLICATIONS.

TRUE “PLUG AND PLAY”

EXAMPLE 1: NETWORK CONNECTION TO PC

WITH A LAN SWITCH OR ROUTER

MIX AND MATCH ANY NUMBER

OF ENCODERS AND DECODERS AS

YOUR PROJECT REQUIRES

CONTROL BOX

NETWORK SWITCH

PORT 1 MENTOR

LAN/CONTROL PORT

MXnet (POE) AV NETWORK

NEVER CONNECT THE

MXNET SWITCH DIRECTLY

TO THE LAN OR ROUTER

MXNET EASY CONNECTION SETUP

LAN CONNECTION AND

3RD PARTY CONTROL

PORT

PAGE: 4

“MGMT” AND “CONSOLE” PORTS:

DO NOT CONNECT TO MXNET

AV NETWORK

EXAMPLE 2: PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK

CONNECTION TO CONTROL BOX

MIX AND MATCH ANY NUMBER

OF ENCODERS AND DECODERS AS

YOUR PROJECT REQUIRES

MXNET CONTROL BOX

NETWORK SWITCH

MXNET EASY CONNECTION SETUP

PORT 1 MENTOR

LAN/CONTROL PORT

MXnet (POE) AV NETWORK

PAGE: 5

“MGMT” AND “CONSOLE” PORTS:

DO NOT CONNECT TO MXNET

AV NETWORK

A CLOSER LOOK . . .

MXNET CONTROL BOX

THE MXNET CONTROL BOX REV. 2

MENTOR PORT 1

LAN / CONTROL PORT

MXnet (POE) AV NETWORK PORT

CONNECT DIRECTLY INTO ANY

PORT ON THE MXNET SWITCH

PAGE: 6

PORTS 2-7

LAN NETWORK EXTENDER FOR MENTOR PORT 1

(STANDARD DATA ONLY - NO AV DATA)

CONNECT A VARIETY OF DEVICES INCLUDING

CONTROL PROCESSORS/CPU’S, DSP’S, AND THE

MXNET SWITCH “MGMT” PORTS ( COMING

SOON ) FOR TRACKING SWITCH PERFORMANCE

DATA USING THE MENTOR APP.

LAN / CONTROL NETWORK

INFO WINDOW

MXNET AV NETWORK

INFO WINDOW

Construct, Configure, Diagnose, Test, Control

To access nearly all of MXNet’s features and functions, simply use a modern web browser.* The

MXNet MENTOR web app comes pre-installed on the MXNet Control Box. MENTOR is an easy to

use, yet very powerful collection of tools that aid with the setup, configuration, testing and diagnostic

processes.

* For best results, consider using the Chrome or Edge (Windows Only) web browser - ( available for PC, Mac, LINUX, iOS, and

Android ) . . .

BASIC SETUP

PAGE: 7

GETTING CONNECTED TO THE MXNET CONTROL BOX AND THE MXNET MENTOR APP

1 - MXNET SYSTEM CONTROL - MENTOR PORT: The MENTOR port’s factory default IP MODE setting is DHCP. However, we recommend that you change that

setting to an appropriate STATIC address once you have successfully connected to the Control Box, and have access the MXNet MENTOR HOME page. The

MXNet Control Box provides an easy method for changing the IP MODE between DHCP to STATIC and back - ( the factory set STATIC IP address is: 192.168.1.239

- simply press and hold the DHCP button on the front of the unit ( circled below ) for 12 seconds. ) To verify the IP address setting, press the “STATUS MONITOR A"

button ( circled below ) two or three times to scroll through all of the network settings.

3 - MXNET AV/IP NETWORK POE PORT & 2 IP MODE ENCODER - DECODERS — Unless this system is being installed into a large enterprise or corporate

network where an I.T. Department will manage all network nodes, it should never be necessary to make any changes to this section. LEAVE IT AT the default

“LINK LOCAL” setting.

PAGE: 8

SECTION - A

LAN & A/V

NETWORK

CONFIGURATIONS

SECTION - B

SOFTWARE

FIRMWARE

UPDATES

SECTION - C

SYSTEM & END

POINT

RESETS / REBOOTS

SECTION - A: LAN & A/V NETWORK CONFIGURATIONS

This section provides network connection settings. It is divided into two segments:

MXNET SYSTEM CONTROL - MENTOR PORT - used for setting an IP address for LAN and control system processor / CPU connections. The default setting is DHCP but can

be changed to STATIC once you have established communication with the Control Box and the MXnet MENTOR setup configuration WEB GUI.

MXNET AV/IP NETWORK POE PORT - used for changing the IP MODE for the Encoders / Transmitters and Decoders / Receivers. It is also used for setting the IP MODE for

the AV/IP NETWORK POE PORT. You have three choices: LINK LOCAL (DEFAULT), DHCP (EXTERNAL) and STATIC.

NOTE: Changing the IP MODE from DEFAULT to DHCP or STATIC should not be changed unless your corporate network’s IT department requires it.

There are also other configuration settings that MUST be made to the network switch prior to making this change. Please contact AVPro Technical Support for more information.

This section focuses on updating firmware for the Control Box, Transmitters / Encoders, and Receivers / Decoders. Current firmware updates can found by visiting our

AVPro Edge Knowledge Base / Firmware Updates: ( https://support.avproedge.com/portal/en/kb/avpro-edge )

SECTION - B: SOFTWARE & FIRMWARE UPDATES

EThis section is for the most part self explanatory. MXNET SYSTEM EVENTS are system wide or global commands, whereas MXNET DEVICE

EVENTS pertain to commands which are sent to the Encoders / Transmitters and Decoders / Receivers and no effect on the rest of the system.

SECTION - C: SYSTEM & END POINT RESETS / REBOOTS

PAGE: 9

B C D E F G HI

CONFIGURE PAGE - ENCODER & DECODER CONFIGURATIONS - ( INPUTS/ENCODERS/SOURCES )

CUSTOM NAME - enter a CUSTOM NAME for an INPUT / SOURCE that will make it easy to identify by type of a/v source. function, etc. Press ENTER to save name.

DESCRIPTION - a field to enter additional information about the input / source device that was assigned a custom name.

EDID MGMT - provides the input / source with specific playback capabilities of the display at the end of the connection chain.

CHANNEL - multicast broadcast channel. The channel is automatically generated by the MXNet system.

IP ADDRESS (AUTO) - system assigned unique (LINK Local) default IP address for each Encoder.

MAC ADDRESS (AUTO) - unique MAC address for each Encoder’s ethernet port.

FIRMWARE VERSION - currently installed firmware version for each Encoder.

ENCODER LIGHTS controls - control the lights for individual or ALL installed Encoders. There are three lighting options: FLASH (helps to locate), On, or Off.

PAGE: 10

Press ENTER

after typing

custom name

B C D E F G H I J

CONFIGURE PAGE - ENCODER & DECODER CONFIGURATIONS - ( OUTPUTS/DECODERS/DISPLAYS )

CUSTOM NAME - enter a CUSTOM NAME for an OUTPUT / DISPLAY that will make it easy to identify by type of display device, etc. Press ENTER to save.

DESCRIPTION - a field to enter additional information about the input /source device that was assigned a custom name.

DOUTPUT RESOLUTION - choose from an extensive list of scaling resolutions starting with 720P/50 all the way up to 4K/60 . When the scalers are turned on, switching

times are greatly reduced.

RETAIN HDR METADATA - setting this option to “YES” will cause any source to load the content metadata immediately following resolution sink.

FIP ADDRESS (AUTO) - system assigned unique (LINK Local) default IP address for each Decoder.

GMAC ADDRESS (AUTO) - unique MAC address for each Decoder’s ethernet port.

IFIRMWARE VERSION - currently installed firmware version for each Decoder.

JDECODER LIGHTS controls - control the lights for individual or ALL installed Encoders. There are three lighting options: FLASH (helps to locate), On, or Off.

HOSD - the “ON” setting forces a screen data overlay including the name of the Encoder source, Decoder, MAC address, and IP address of the Decoder.

PAGE: 11

Press ENTER

after typing

custom name

B C DEFGH I J

CONFIGURE PAGE - ENCODER DIAGNOSTICS

CUSTOM NAME - reference to the CUSTOM NAME previously entered in the CONFIGURE pages.

DESCRIPTION - reference to the DESCRIPTION previously entered in the CONFIGURE pages.

DNETWORK CONNECTION - indicates the quality of the network category cable connection: Green = Good, Yellow = Marginal, and Red = NO SIGNAL

CONNECTION SPEED - if the NETWORK CONNECTION is GOOD the speed indicator light will be green in color. A MARGINAL signal displays as yellow. A bad signal

will display as FAILED and red in color.

FBANDWIDTH SETTING - set the Encoded throughput to as low as 200Mb or set it to AUTO which increases bandwidth to a maximum 850 Mb throughput.

GHDMI VIDEO - displays the resolution of the source video.

ICOLOR DEPTH - SDR = 8 bit, Dolby Vision = 8 bit, and HDR10 = 10bit.

JHDMI AUDIO - indicates if the source signal is NON PCM, PCM or BIT STREAM. FLASH (helps to locate), On, or Off.

HHDR - indicates whether the source signal is sending HDR metadata or SDR metadata which is indicated as a “NO”.

L M

HOT PLUG DETECT/RESET - click on RESET to forces a sink refresh between the source and encoder HDMI connection.

LHDCP VERS - indicates whether the signal contains HDCP 1.4, 2.2 or NONE.

MENDCODER LIGHT controls - as previously detailed in the CONFIGURE page outline.

PAGE: 12

BC D EFGH I J

CONFIGURE PAGE - DECODER DIAGNOSTICS

CUSTOM NAME - reference to the CUSTOM NAME previously entered in the CONFIGURE pages.

DESCRIPTION - reference to the DESCRIPTION previously entered in the CONFIGURE pages.

DNETWORK CONNECTION - indicates the quality of the network category cable connection: Green = Good, Yellow = Marginal, and Red = NO SIGNAL

CONNECT SPEED - if the NETWORK CONNECTION is GOOD the speed indicator light will be green in color. A MARGINAL signal displays as yellow. A bad signal

will display as FAILED and red in color.

FHDMI VIDEO- displays the incoming video resolution of the source.

GHDR - whether the source signal contains HDR metadata.

IHDMI AUDIO - indicates if the source signal is NON PCM or PCM.

HCOLOR DEPTH - indicates whether the source signal is sending HDR metadata or SDR metadata which is indicated as a “NO”.

L M

HOT PLUG DETECT/RESET - click on RESET to force a sink refresh between the Decoder signal and HDMI connection.

KHDCP VERS - indicates whether the signal contains HDCP 1.4, 2.2 or NONE.

LCONNECTED SINK/DISPLAY - the system reads the EDID display information and shows the brand or model number of the target display.

MSOURCE ENCODERS indicates the Encoder transmitter the source signal.

NDECODER LIGHT controls - as previously detailed in the CONFIGURE page outline.

PAGE: 13

AUTO-MATRIX PAGE

INPUTS COLUMN – All connected Encoders will be displayed vertically within the column. MENTOR provides a preview image of the source signal which

auto-refreshes every ten seconds.. If there are more than six Encoders installed in the system, a scroll bar will auto-appear just to the right of the input tiles.

OUTPUTS GRID – All connected Decoders will be displayed in horizontal rows across the output matrix border. If there are more than 56 installed Decoders,

a vertical scroll bar will auto-appear on the right side of the matrix border.

DSELECTING AN INPUT SOURCE: FIRST, click on one of the “INPUTS” tiles to select the source. Notice an orange border surrounding the INPUTS tile will

appear indicating that the INPUT/Encoder has been selected.

SETTING AN OUTPUT(S) – NEXT, click on one or more of the “OUTPUTS” tiles to set the A/V switch. Notice that an Orange border will surround all OUTPUT

tiles to indicate their INPUT-OUTPUT routing.

FOUTPUTS – BLUE TILES- indicate OUTPUTS that are members of a Video Wall array. The name of the Video Wall appears in the lower left corner of each

blue tile.

PAGE: 14

A/V SWITCHING